Discover how to create a successful marketing strategy for your business to seize growth opportunities and boost revenue.
Written by: Flori NeedleOutline your company's marketing strategy in one simple, coherent plan.
Am I right in assuming that a significant part of your marketing strategy today is digital? Probably. Consumers and businesses alike are almost always online and on the go, so you want to be able to reach them wherever they are.
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The difference between a strategy and a tactic lies in their scope, level of detail, and time frame. A strategy is a high-level plan that guides your direction and long-term goals and how you plan on accomplishing them. Tactics, however, are specific actions and methods used to implement your strategy and achieve short-term objectives.
You can think about it like this: strategy is planning, and tactic is doing. Having a strategy without ways to act on it (tactics) is daydreaming, and taking actions with no common goal or plan (strategy) wastes your time.
Let's dive a bit deeper into the differences between the two.
1. A diagnosis of your challenge.
2. A guiding policy for dealing with the challenge.
3. A set of targeted actions is necessary to accomplish the policy.
Depending on the scale of your business, your marketing strategy may include several moving parts, each with different goals. With that said, working on your strategy can become daunting at times.
So, if you're ever feeling overwhelmed about your marketing strategy, refer to these three steps to keep you focused on achieving your objectives.
While strategies provide a framework for your overall vision, tactics determine the specific steps taken to execute that vision.
A good tactic should:
Depending on your marketing strategy, your tactics may include email marketing campaigns, publishing a blog, or organizing an event.
Now, let's look at digital marketing strategy.
A digital marketing strategy is a plan for using online channels to establish an internet presence and achieve specific marketing objectives. These channels can include organic search, social media, paid ads, and other web-based mediums such as your website. Ultimately, the goal is to boost your business’s visibility and attract new customers.
A strong digital marketing strategy helps your business achieve specific digital goals through carefully selected mediums.
Similar to marketing strategies versus marketing tactics , “digital marketing strategy” and “ digital marketing campaign ” are also often interchanged. So, how do they differ?
I’ll discuss that in the following sections.
First of all, you’ve got to lay out your main goals and specific objectives to build an effective digital strategy.
Goals are big-picture ideas, while objectives are more detailed and easier to measure. They have clear deadlines and show what success looks like.
Here is an example of how I like to think about the difference:
See the difference? When it comes to goals, you can define and measure them through SMART goals and criteria.
Next step — get to know your audience.
Research and identify the specific groups of people you want to reach.
Consider their age, where they live, and how much money they make. What are their interests? What issues do they face? Where do they spend their time online?
Study their online behavior, preferred websites, and what they like to read or watch, so you can pick the best platforms and make content that grabs their attention.
A content plan is the most interesting and, at the same time, most challenging part of any strategy.
Your content must inform, entertain, and engage.
Here you need to “spy” on your audience again. What kind of content do they devour? Where do they leave the most comments, likes, and shares? When do they mostly check in (morning, lunch, bedtime)?
Here are my top tips for creating a content strategy that works:
Pro tip: Take your content strategy to the next level with this handy guide: How to Develop a Content Strategy in 7 Steps: A Start-to-Finish Guide
Every digital strategy should prioritize a good user experience. Your site or app needs to be functional, enjoyable, and easy to use.
It must be clear, intuitive, and frustration-free. Otherwise, you risk losing potential customers.
Here are my tips for good UX:
Data analytics track traffic, analyze which parts of the campaign resonate most, and even pinpoint where users might be dropping off.
Data analytics can also track how users behave, understand what they like, and even predict future trends.
Managing data analytics can be overwhelming, but HubSpot's Marketing Analytics & Dashboard Software makes it easy to keep track of all your marketing efforts effortlessly.
This lets you identify what‘s working and what’s not. You can then refine your approach, optimize content for better conversions, and ultimately achieve your objectives with laser focus.
Pro tip: If you want to learn more about data analytics, I recommend exploring this free resource: A Complete Guide to Data Analytics — Download for free
Digital marketing campaigns are the building blocks and actions within your digital marketing strategy that move you toward a specific end goal.
For instance, if the overarching goal of my digital marketing strategy is to generate more leads through social media, I might run a digital marketing campaign on X (formerly Twitter.)
I‘d share some of my business’s best-performing gated content on the platform to generate more leads through the channel.
Let's tie it all together to help you create a digital marketing strategy you execute with your digital marketing campaigns.
For any marketing strategy – digital or not – you need to know who you're marketing to. The best digital marketing strategies are built upon detailed buyer personas; creating them is your first step.
Featured Resource: Organize your audience segments and strengthen your marketing with these templates to build your buyer personas. They'll help you organize your insights and have a clear visualization of your target audience.
Buyer personas represent your ideal customer(s) and can be created by researching, surveying, and interviewing your business's target audience.
I have to note that it’s important that the information you gather is based on real data whenever possible. Making assumptions about your audience can cause your marketing strategy to go wrong.
Buyer personas are especially helpful if you have a niche audience. For example, I run Breaking the Blueprint, a HubSpot Blog column for minority business owners and entrepreneurs — a more specific group than the general HubSpot audience.
I could publish content based on what I think they might look for and benefit from, but I’m much more effective, impactful, and helpful if I dig deep and uncover their specific interests, needs, and challenges.
To get a well-rounded picture of your persona, your research pool should include customers, prospects, and people outside your contacts database who align with your target audience.
But what information should you gather for your buyer persona(s) to inform your digital marketing strategy?
That depends on your business — it’s likely to vary by whether you’re B2B or B2C or sell a high-cost or low-cost product.
I’ve outlined some starting points that you can fine-tune and tailor to your particular business:
Everything you need to know to get started with digital marketing. You'll learn about:
